Seoul City and HSBC Bank Create 'Urban Forest' on Damaged Green Spaces to Address Climate Crisis

Agreement Signed on the 8th for the 'Urban Forest Project'
This Year, Restoration of 1,000㎡ of Damaged Green Space in Yeongdeungpo Mullae Neighborhood Park Planned... Completion Scheduled for October

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 9th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the 8th with HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) and Life Forest to promote the 'Urban Forest Project' in response to the climate crisis.

This MOU involves creating 'urban forests' by planting various trees in damaged or neglected green spaces within Seoul. Up to three sites will be selected and developed by 2024, with one site each year. A total of 300 million KRW will be invested. The Urban Forest Project, initiated by Seoul since 2013, is a public-private partnership aimed at restoring the naturalness of forests to improve urban air quality, reduce heat islands, and offset carbon emissions.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide the basic direction for the Urban Forest Project and offer administrative support, including coordination with related agencies. HSBC will provide the necessary financial support for the project, while Life Forest will oversee the execution, design, and construction of the urban forest development. According to the agreement, the three organizations will actively cooperate in a public-private governance manner on planning, execution, maintenance, promotion of the project, enhancing environmental improvement effects, spreading green culture through citizen participation, and other matters necessary for mutual development.

The first target site is a 1,000㎡ damaged green space around the walking trail in Yeongdeungpo Mullae Neighborhood Park. After gathering opinions from local residents, various trees that harmonize with the surrounding environment will be planted to restore the naturalness of the forest. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of the year, with completion targeted for October.

Next year’s project sites will include ▲ state-owned land in the form of vacant lots ▲ damaged areas such as forests, rivers, and parks ▲ areas with high greening effects and citizen usage through forest creation.

Seoul has been promoting various urban greening projects linked to corporate social responsibility activities. This MOU is part of that ongoing effort. Over the past eight years, Seoul has conducted greening projects with 197 companies, attracting approximately 17.5 billion KRW in private capital and creating urban forests throughout the city. This is regarded as a successful example of public-private governance.

From the corporate perspective, participation continues to increase as companies can maintain social contribution activities in landscaping while also enhancing their corporate image.

Choi Yoon-jong, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Green City Bureau, said, “This MOU is especially meaningful as it allows us to collaborate with companies to create environmentally friendly urban forests in Seoul,” adding, “We plan to continuously promote urban forest creation so that citizens can live in comfortable and beautiful spaces.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.